Italian Stocks, Italy Fund Turn Green For 2012

By Brendan Conway

Italian stocks briefly moved into positive territory for the year in dollar terms for the first time since April, notes Miller Tabak’s Andrew Wilkinson.

Here in the U.S., the iShares MSCI Italy Index Fund (EWI) has bounced 3.5% on the session for a YTD gain of 1.5%. On a net-asset value basis, the fund entered the session down about 2% on the year, according to FactSet Research Systems.

It’s a remarkable reversal of the extreme midyear swoon in Italian stocks. The iShares fund was down by more than 20% at one point.

“[I]t seems like they have made a momentous change in attitude,” writesTF Market Advisors’ Peter Tchir. “For one of the first times, they really seem to have gone through more details and thought about more potential outcomes.”

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Chris Dieterich has covered the U.S. stock market for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. He is a graduate of Regis University and the Missouri School of Journalism.